So you need a real Net connection

Reliable Internet access is getting cheaper everyday, but you wouldn't know that if you are subscribed to one of the Big Three online services -- America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy.

Since SF State students and faculty who use the Net extensively know that they cannot rely on the university's "free" Internet access, many have turned to one of the commercial providers.

More often than not, many turn to AOL. The main problem is that AOL is a rip-off. It's nearly impossible to contact a customer service representative should you have any questions, and subscribers only get 10 hours of "free" time (there is a monthly charge of $9.99) on the service. That includes time surfing the Internet.

Each additional hour costs $2.95. As AOL users know, that 10 hours

disappears fast and their bill begins to tally. Another 10 hours

online with AOL will cost about $30 plus the monthly fee.

You don't have to take this. There are literally hundreds of Internet providers that offer many more hours each month -- some up to 90 hours -- for a reasonable fee, ranging from $12 to $24 a month.

It's just like laundry detergent; why pay $8 a box for a commercial brand when you can pay $3 for a bargain brand that basically does the same thing.

Let's say you sign onto a new Internet provider that gives you 60 hours of peak time (usually between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST) usage on the Internet for $15 a month, plus an email account and the software to use the World Wide Web, as well as other popular Internet platforms, like Usenet groups.

If you use all 60 hours, you still pay $15 a month. Do this on AOL and your bill could be nearly $200. If that's not a rip-off, what is?

To find a new Internet provider, look through any of the weekly city papers or get a copy of Computer Currents.

Some people like the features offered by the commercial providers, such as email, access to news articles, online shopping and other research tools. That's great, but all of that is available through the lesser-known Net providers, and via the Web, the world's largest and most interactive library of information and communications.

Unless the Big Three change their pricing structure, they will be virtually out of the Internet provider market in a couple of years from now. For all you Netheads, you deserve better.

[ Golden Gater Online March 28, 1996 ]

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